Eurozone finance ministers were to confer by telephone on Saturday after 12 hours of talks in Athens failed to produce a breakthrough on a deal to bail out Greece, the Greek finance minister said. Evangelos Venizelos added that a planned meeting by eurozone ministers on Greece originally scheduled for Monday would now be held on Wednesday. "I will participate in a Eurogroup telephone conference at 1230 GMT" to discuss details of a rescue deal for Greece worth 130 billion euros ($171 billion) which officials have been trying to seal since October, the minister said in a statement. "Critical issues pertaining to the country's ...
Australia's flood crisis deepened Saturday as authorities braced for waters to peak in Queensland where one woman is missing after being swept away while elsewhere thousands remain stranded by the surge. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said eight military helicopters would help in search, evacuation and resupply missions in the eastern state, where days of heavy rainfall have prompted hundreds of evacuations and dozens of rescues. "The helicopters will be available to assist in rescue operations as required until the immediate crisis has passed," Gillard said in a statement. In the inland Queensland town of Charleville authorities are on alert amid fears a temporary ...
Tens of thousands people are braving the bitter cold at two major rallies in downtown Moscow on Saturday as a power play between champions of political liberalization and supporters of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin continues to unfold. The first demonstration demands fair elections at the March 4 presidential polls, at which Putin is expected to secure a third term in the Kremlin. It also calls on Russians “not to give a single vote” to Putin. The opposition rally is widely seen by analysts as a litmus test of protesters’ ability to maintain momentum after two earlier protests against alleged vote fraud in favor of ...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday wrapped up a visit to China where she tried to reassure her hosts on the strength of the euro and Europe's ability to overcome its debt crisis. During her three-day trip to the world's second largest economy, Merkel praised the advantages of the single currency and urged China to put pressure on Iran and to condemn Syria at the United Nations. Merkel, who was prevented from meeting journalists and a human rights lawyers, ended her official visit in the southern city of Guangzhou, Xinhua news agency reported. Merkel, who held talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and President ...
Norway’s government has said it wants non-European immigrants to carry residency cards equipped with data chips bearing their fingerprints. In a proposal presented on Friday, the justice ministry said the new identity cards would help tackle illegal immigration. “The residency card system will increase security surrounding residency permit documentation, thereby contributing to the prevention of illegal immigration and illegal residency,” said Justice Minister Grete Faremo (Labour Party) in a statement. The move follows pressure from the European Union to ensure that immigrants from outside the European Economic Area, of which Norway is a member, are provided with residency cards that include fingerprint details. Faremo ...
Greece expects its 2011 budget deficit will be smaller than expected at between 9.1 and 9.4 percent of GDP, thanks to an emergency property tax, a finance ministry official said on Friday, a development that could help Athens in its bailout talks with the EU and IMF. Greece, which is racing to complete talks with the EU and the IMF on a second bailout worth 130 billion euros, had previously estimated that the deficit would be above 9.5 percent of GDP. "The numbers aren't final yet but we believe the deficit will come in at between 9.1 and 9.4 percent (of GDP)," ...
China has rejected Japanese protests over alleged improper exploration of gas deposits in the East China Sea. The Foreign Ministry said Friday the recent activity had taken place within Chinese-controlled waters and was completely normal. A ministry statement said China was strongly dissatisfied with recent comments from Japanese officials. Japan's chief Cabinet secretary on Wednesday said Japan protested to China after a flare was seen a day earlier at a Chinese structure at an undersea gas deposit. The deposit, known as Kashi in Japan and Tianwaitian in China, sits near a median line in the countries' overlapping exclusive economic zones. Japan and China agreed ...
The leader of Russia's Islamist rebels ordered a halt to attacks on civilians, saying mass opposition protests showed the public no longer supported Vladimir Putin, according to a video posted Friday. Doku Umarov, whose Caucasus Emirate group claimed atrocities including a deadly Moscow airport bombing in 2011 and a metro attack in 2010, said from now only security objects and officials would be targeted. "I order all special groups that are carrying out or plan to carry out special operations in Russia to put a halt to these operations that could hurt the peaceful population," Doku Umarov said in a video address ...
China's Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday the Asian giant had neither the ability nor the intention to "buy Europe", amid concerns over growing Chinese investment in debt-stricken eurozone economies. China is "willing to cooperate with Europe to fight the current crisis. Some people say this means China wants to buy Europe", Wen told a German-China business forum in the southern city of Guangzhou. "This a concern and doesn't fit reality. China doesn't have this intention and doesn't have this ability." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in China for a three-day visit to boost her host's confidence in Europe, also attended the forum along with ...
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is to resign from the Government after it emerged he is to face prosecution over allegations that he asked his ex-wife to take a speeding penalty for him. The Liberal Democrat MP has been charged with perverting the course of justice after an investigation into the 2003 incident by Essex Police. His former wife, the economist Vicky Pryce is also facing charges of perverting the course of justice. They are due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 16. The maximum sentence for perverting the course of justice is life in prison, the CPS and the Sentencing ...
Today is Wednesday, June 9, the 160th day of 2010. There are 205 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 9, 1954, during the Senate-Army Hearings, Army special counsel Joseph N. Welch berated Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy for his attack on Frederick Fisher, a junior attorney at Welch’s law firm, asking: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” On this... [more]
Today is Wednesday, June 9, the 160th day of 2010. There are 205 days left in the year. 68 – Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, imploring his secretary Epaphroditos to slit his throat to evade a Senate-imposed death by flogging. 641 – Arabic/Islamic army contrasts with the Hippo over Alexandria 721 – Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse. 922 – French republic chooses Robert I, King of France 1075... [more]
ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Britain believe they have found the world’s best-preserved Gladiator cemetery, unearthing skeletons with the kind of violent injuries usually sustained in a Roman amphitheatre. The York Archaeological Trust dug up 80 skeletons in York, northern England, that date from between the first and fourth centuries AD. Forensic tests found that the majority were male, very robust and mostly above average height. Most of the... [more]
Today is Tuesday, June 8, the 159th day of 2010. There are 206 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, 34 U.S. servicemen were killed when Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship stationed in the Mediterranean. (Israel later said the Liberty had been mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.) On this date: In A.D. 632, the prophet... [more]
Today is Monday, June 7, the 158th day of 2010. There are 207 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for American independence from Britain. On this date: In 1753, Britain’s King George II gave his assent to an Act of Parliament establishing the British Museum. In 1769, frontiersman Daniel Boone first began... [more]
Today is Sunday, June 6, the 157th day of 2010. There are 208 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Europe took place during World War II as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. On this date: In 1809, Sweden adopted a new constitution. In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London. In 1918, U.S. Marines suffered heavy casualties... [more]
Today is Saturday, June 5, the 156th day of 2010. There are 209 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel after claiming victory in California’s Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was immediately arrested. On this date: In 1884, Civil War hero General William T. Sherman refused the Republican... [more]
Today is Friday, June 4, the 155th day of 2010. There are 210 days left in the year. Today’s highlight in history: On June 4, 1940, during World War II, the Allied military evacuation from Dunkirk, France, involving more than 338,000 troops, ended. On this date: In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon, which did not carry any passengers, over Annonay, France. In 1784, opera singer Elizabeth... [more]
Today is Thursday, June 3, the 154th day of 2010. There are 211 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 3, 1808, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Ky. On this date: In 1621, the Dutch West India Company received its charter for a trade monopoly in parts of the Americas and Africa. In 1888, the poem “Casey at the Bat,” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, was first published,... [more]
Today is Monday, May 31, the 151st day of 2010. There are 214 days left in the year. This is the Memorial Day observance. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 31, 1985, at least 88 people were killed, more than 1,000 injured, as over 40 tornadoes swept through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada, during an eight-hour period. On this date: In 1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, N.Y. In 1889, more... [more]
